Moses: An Example Of Humility

Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.
–Numbers 12:3

In the Old Testament, the person who demonstrated humility above all was Moses. In fact, Numbers 12:3 actually says, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.”

There are two particular instances of Moses’s humility that are so interesting to me, and they can teach us about what it means to be humble. The first is the elevation of Eldad and Medad, found in Numbers 11:26-29. Earlier in that chapter, the Israelites were complaining about the food, water, and living accommodations out in the wilderness. Moses got so tired, he went to God and basically said, “God, just shoot me right now. I am spent. I cannot deal with this any longer.” God said, in essence, “No, here is what you should do. Gather seventy elders with whom you can share the burden of leadership. Once they have been selected, I will put My Spirit on them, and they will prophesy.” So Moses chose seventy men, and they started prophesying to demonstrate that the Spirit of God was upon them. Finally the elders quit prophesying–everybody except Eldad and Medad, that is. These two guys started prophesying in the camp. Joshua told Moses what was going on, and then he advised, “Moses, my lord, restrain them” (v. 28). He probably thought they would undermine Moses’s reputation. But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” (v. 29). Moses did not care about his rank, his position, or his reputation. He wanted the Word of God to be spoken. He was like Paul in Philippians 1, who had heard reports that there were others preaching the gospel simply to cause him distress while he was in prison. He said, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice” (v. 18). That is an example of humility.

A second instance of humility in Moses’s life was the murmuring of his sister Miriam. When people started grumbling against Moses, she and her brother Aaron thought, “This is our chance to tell everybody what we really think of our younger brother Moses.” Numbers 12:1-2 says, “Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses . . . and they said, ‘Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us as well?’” In other words, “Why do we listen only to him? We are just as important as he is.” The only problem was the Lord heard their grumbling, and He was not happy about it. He called Aaron and Miriam to stand before Him, and He struck Miriam with a case of leprosy. How did Moses respond to that? He could have said, “See what happens when you touch God’s anointed?” But that is not how Moses responded. Numbers 12:13 says, “Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, ‘O God, heal her, I pray!’” He prayed for the healing of his sister. As you pursue your goals in life, as you climb toward the summit, remember that humility cuts through the fog of pride and allows you to see God clearly.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Survival Tip #7: Beware Of Celebrating The Summit” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.